I then turned to the lower cabin construction. I decided to deviate from the instructions and build the lower cabin onto the upper deck instead of gluing everything to the lower deck. I believe this will help with painting later on.

Looking at many pictures I noticed that the lower cabin is not rounded like the kit, but more square. I cut some off of the upper deck and squared the corners with a file – to get a good straight cut I measured from a feature, drew a line and cut with an xacto knife.

Next, also realized through photos, the Reading Tugs did not have the inside stairways to the upper deck as on the model. Thus the holes in the deck were filled and the stairs not installed, but I did install the walls. To help in a bit less trimming, I installed the two side walls on the opposite sides, so the stairway support would be on the inside. Thus the wall showing through the open doors will be flat.

(In the picture below, the upper deck front has not yet been modified)

Back to the cabin sides, glued them in place and again, used weights to hold them together because the walls are curved to match the main deck.

Had to modify the from wall – remember, the kit is quite curved and we’ve flattened the deck contour to be more straight. I took the wall upstairs and blasted it with a hair dryer on HOT and push down on the wall piece to try to flatten it. This worked fairly well and the wall was flatter but still had a bit of curve.

Next, since we flattened the wall it “grew” in length, so it had to be trimmed to match the side wall opening. I trimmed about 1/8” or so, trial and error is best here. Below you can see the wall glued on and the pieces I trimmed off. You can also see the squared off deck here too.

Hello... I know you all have been just hanging on, waiting for this built to continue... well, it will VERY soon! Mostly because I need to finish it for the Reading RR Modelers Meet in October! But also, because my summer car activities are winding down a bit, so I have time for modeling again.

updates soon...

Hello...
changing formats a bit as I'm turning this build into a clinic, so this and future updates will be in picture form, from the presentation I'm preparing.

With that... here are 3 more pages of updates....

Looking good Barry...I wish you good luck on your clinic presentation

Thanks for the encouragement Chris...
here's the next few slides - handrails!!

I have a question at the end of the last slide... looking for your comments...

I personally would match the prototype wherever possible. since the railings are the most obvious part on the outside, i'd hate knowing that they werent correct. on the other hand, it's hard to tell if the area inside the railings would be too big. If they don't look too akward with the middle rail cut out, i'd do it.